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April 01, 2007
CNN Correspondent Michael Ware continues to drink heavily on camera
[ UPDATE: Ware claims and video shows that he did not heckle McCain. ]
Michael Ware has been Exhibit A in the controversy over unprofessional partisan journalism in the Iraq War. Make that inebriated unprofessional partisan journalism. (And unlike Christopher Hitchens, he isn't an eloquent principled dignified drunk, but a sloppy one.)
Last year Ware made unsubstantiated accusations about sexual abuse by US troops, to Bill Maher's TV audience, live and defiantly drunk in Baghdad. (Video here. YouTube now has the videos, so I added them to the end of this post.)
Following that spectacle, Hugh Hewitt interviewed Ware and bloggers commented on the interview. (Links here.) Then Hewitt played the interview back to both Hitchens and Victor Davis Hanson, who respond to Ware's ravings.
As a result of that controversy, Ware went from being the Time Bureau Chief to "a CNN correspondent." But he's still drunkenly flaunting his partisan persona, and I guess CNN is okay with that; disgracing the journalism profession on network news brings in more viewers. And in Michael Ware, CNN has a direct conduit to terrorist snuff videos, always a money-maker.
Someone on the Powerline Forum says Ware is indeed like that all the time:
this is quite typical of Ware’s views and behavior. I observed him off and on up close in Baghdad for over a year, and he was consistently clueless and enthusiastically pushing the most ludicrous interpretation of events.I distinctly recall over-hearing a conversation in which he was breathlessly relating the tale of a US unit in Anbar so besieged by the noble muj that they were low on supplies, etc. As though (even with our disastrous refusal to fight the war seriously, for the most part) the “insurgents” could mount a conventional effort that would last more than a few hours if we simply decided to end it by an easy application of our power, or as if the situation were comparable to some conventional set-piece action in Europe in WWII.
It’s of course easy to adopt Ware’s arrogant, snarky attitude, which glories in every daily bump and set-back - but it’s a lot easier because the adults remain silent, refusing to talk to the public, refusing to set the terms of discussion in some reasonable, historically literate context, refusing to educate. So it’s a microcosm of the situation (well laid out in the PowerLine post linking to the blog of the soldier in southern Iraq): an idiotic, unserious anti-war contingent on one side, and a hesitant, silent, sometimes bumbling war management team on the other.
Of course the senators themselves are well placed to raise the level of discussion, by noting that as in much of life (just more so here), things suck and there is progress at the same time. I would be stunned if either of these two managed to accomplish that. They’ve not been much more use in this regard than the rest of their colleagues.
CNN, folks. The people who sucked up to Saddam so they could get stories, whose CEO accused our soldiers of deliberately targeting journalists, without any evidence at all. Michael Ware is still their man in Baghdad.
RELATED: As veteran Ware-watchers, we noticed when an episode of CSI about "fauxtography" featured a character who could very easily be a take-off on Ware, scruffy Aussie persona and all.
Ware starts at 7:00:
And continues here:
Judith | 04/01/07 at 08:33 PM | Categories: - The Fourth Estate
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Blogs which link to CNN Correspondent Michael Ware continues to drink heavily on camera:
» Q & A of the Day:Michael Ware of CNN from UrbanGrounds
What’s the difference between Michael Ware and Rosie O’Donnell?
... [Read More]
Tracked on April 1, 2007 09:34 PM
» Video shows Michael Ware didn't heckle McCain from Kesher Talk
Re: the lastest Michael Ware story. So far video shows, and Ware insists, that he didn't heckle McCain during the press conference. The source of this story was a quote on Drudge from "an official at the press conference." What... [Read More]
Tracked on April 2, 2007 02:45 PM
Comments
Hmmm. Ultra-rightwing blog cites unknown "official" critical of Ware. Yup... that certainly isn't in and of itself "biased" reporting now is it? Fuck you guys are stupid.
Lets say for a second this is true, and really... I wouldn't be surprised if it is. Ware has actually been in Iraq for months, and has acutally witnessed what's going on. I don't give a rats ass if McCain is a Senator, veteran, or Jesus fucking Christ himself... the asshole lied when he said "“There are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods, today.”
When you speak such bullshit... you get called on it. I can't wait till somebody says something like this to your retard-in-chief.
Kougar | April 1, 2007 09:27 PM
"blog cites unknown "official" critical of Ware. Yup... that certainly isn't in and of itself "biased" reporting now is it? Fuck you guys are stupid."
No, it's not reporting, and nowhere does anything say it's "official". It is anecdotal information from a biased source. It is presented to you, with link, for you to add it to your store of info about the situation. You the reader get to decide what to do with the info. That's how blogs work. I assume you AREN'T stupid or I wouldn't have bothered to explain this to you.
But Ware is supposed to be "official" and it is not his job as a journalist to "call" anyone on anything by drunkenly heckling them. Unless he wants to make his employer look bad, which I guess they don't care about. Let's say he was appearing on TV in that state, to tell you how well the surge was working - would he be credible?
There are many other journalists there who also know what's going on. As well as soldiers, who are also very eloquent. Fortunately Ware and CNN don't have an monopoly on the news.
Judith | April 1, 2007 10:30 PM
Michael Ware: arrogant, drunk, duplicitous.
{deep voice}
This . . . is CNN.
{/deep voice}
colorless.blue.ideas | April 1, 2007 11:48 PM
Back in Vietnam, guys like Tom Brokaw would hang around the bar in the Hotel Caravelle and file using gossip gleaned there as well as regular reporting. But Ware has canned the regular reporting and simply reports as a sloppy barfly.
Fits in with Ted Turner's corporate kultcher---a chronic drunk owner/founder promotes falling-down drunk journalism.
daveinboca | April 2, 2007 08:38 AM
Is Judith a bitter toward her parents/life because she is an old maid?
Truth hurts. That's why she won't post this.
asdf | April 2, 2007 08:46 AM
Is Judith bitter toward her parents/life because she is an old maid?
Truth hurts. That's why she won't post this.
asdf | April 2, 2007 08:46 AM
Swift-boating like this is typical right-wing knee-jerk. The idea is to smear and slander anyone who disagrees with Karl Rove's talking points of the day, no matter now absurd, no matter how they fly in the face of reality, of facts. It's the only thing you guys know. It's all you have left. Come the next election, there will be a landslide Democratic victory, and all you clowns will wonder what hit you. Payback's a bitch, eh? Your days are numbered, clowns.
John Palcewski | April 2, 2007 09:36 AM
You know what...
That Iraq war *is* going well.
It's the negative people who are always focusing on the fact that millions of Iraqis are refugees.
So what? I'm not a refugee. I'm very comfortable right now!
See!
The War is going Great!
Stupid Anti-War people always thinking of themselves...
Waaah! I'm homeless.
Waaah! My city has been destroyed.
Waaah! Militias have taken over the streets.
Boohoo... Deal with it Iraq. It's *your* problem.
Enjoy your democracy!
Here | April 2, 2007 12:02 PM
Is "asdf" an irrelevant troll who desperately needs to run on down to Lives "R" Us and get him one?
Enquring minds ... aw, who gives a fig?
McGehee | April 2, 2007 01:19 PM
McGehee, you got it. This troll pops up every few months and repeats the same pathetic crap. I banned it once and I'll ban it again after this, but I want people to know what kind of commenters I ban - that troll and ones like it. Anyone who wants to actually engage the content of the post can say whatever they want.
Judith | April 2, 2007 01:26 PM
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
You actually believe Ware WASN'T joking when he was on Maher's show? What??!?!
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Slim | April 2, 2007 04:35 PM
Judith,
You have shown "asdf" up for the sad little cretin he is. If I were you, I would be tempted to leave posts as self-defeating as that one prominently displayed.
On the other hand, there is the question of not wishing to have the place cluttered up with oafish imbecilities, so I suppose you have to do a certain amount of housekeeping.
Shame I didn't know about CNN's hiring policy before I abandoned the demon drink. I would have enjoyed lounging about the Baghdad Sheraton sucking down a few cold ones. In fact in a former life I often did.
furriskey | April 3, 2007 12:11 AM
Mr. Hitchens is a paid intellect. He has authored many fine pieces. It is absolutley ridiculous to compare him to a journalist/reporter.
For what Mr. Ware does, he is among the best. Facts are facts.
This is a prototypical smear-job, from those who do it the best: Jewish folks overly sympathetic to Israel and the lobby (go on, call me anti-semetic).
I love Israel, we all love Israel, Israel will be fine.
This blog is beyond skewed. You should be ashamed. We are all aloud our particular sentiments, without being smeared.
Jeffro | September 14, 2007 07:23 PM













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